22 replies to this topic

[Riffleman]

Its been over 15 years since I have had a joystick, and even though mouse precision is going to be more accurate than a joystick, Im still looking to use one for my mechwarrior online experience. Funny how fun can often be a disadvantage in a game, but I digress.

I have a budget of 150 or less, so im gonna go out on a limb here and say that eliminates my chances of getting a razor artemis. Anyone know any (or have bought any) good joysticks that will be able to handle movement, weapons, and torso twisting as well as reverse and speed up/down?

[Lin Shai]

http://mwomercs.com/...nd-comparisons/

[Khan Brandon Ward]

Check out the Saitek X52 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826102004 I loved it's predecessor the X45
or
Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X http://www.amazon.co....Flight+Hotas+X No experience with this one but TM has always made great products.

Also check out CH Products http://www.chproduct...13-p-124.html#5

[Pitstarter]

I really like the Thrustmaster HOTAS one. Lots of buttons within easy reach, and quite inexpensive.

My only gripe about it is the twist on the stick and the rudder control on the throttle are one and the same. From what I see you can't map the throttle rudder to something and have the stick rudder mapped to something else.

[Riffleman]

Couldnt I use one of the top shaped buttons to torso twist? Twisty sticks seem like they would throw off accuracy. Petals might be ideal, but probably priced out of my range.

[abetterpilot]

logitec extreme 3d pro, saitek fly, are both well under your budget. how long the calibration lasts in both depends on luck and how hard on joysticks you are. there are videos out there for tweaking both to improve them if you like doing that.

[SkyDragon]

I'm happy with the Thrustmaster T.16000M
It's very accurate.

The price tag was still less than 50$ after tax.

I am actually very pleased with the performance in MW4. I can can't vouch for the durability because I have only been using it for a week but so far so good....

You can read about this joystick and other options here from this hardware post .

[Squiggy McPew]

I'm using an xbox360 controller with mw4:mercs and its a blast once I remapped the buttons the way I liked.

Hopefully there is native support for it past the generic level as it would be good for this game and is cheap as chips.

[MrFancypants]

Riffleman, on 15 July 2012 - 11:09 PM, said:

Couldnt I use one of the top shaped buttons to torso twist? Twisty sticks seem like they would throw off accuracy. Petals might be ideal, but probably priced out of my range.

Not sure how well that would work. You could always get a twisty stick and buy pedals later on.

You can reduce the effect of twisty sticks on accuracy by setting deadbands for the twist axis. So slight twist movements won't register.

[Rainsinger]

I've had great luck with these types of games just using a XBox 360 controller + keyboard.

[Egomane]

I agree on the accuracy of the T.16000M. As for durability: I never had a better stick in that price range.

I am very rough on my sticks. In the past I needed two or three for a Space-Sim like Wing Commander or X-Wing. They startet to show signs of attrition after less then 25 hours of gameplay (Yes, I am playing this rough with my sticks) and were replaced after around 50 to 60 hours. For X-Wing alone I replaced my Logitech Wingman Extreme (no 3D, digital, or other additional naming, I am talking about the original one) seven times. And at its time it was one very good stick, I only stopped using it, because it went out of production.

The T.16000M survived two playthroughs of Wing Commander Saga and is still as precise as it was in the beginning. It has now replaced the Wingman Extreme as my alltime favorite stick in the low to mid price range.

[Bishop Steiner]

Riffleman, on 15 July 2012 - 11:09 PM, said:

Couldnt I use one of the top shaped buttons to torso twist? Twisty sticks seem like they would throw off accuracy. Petals might be ideal, but probably priced out of my range.

Depends on the twisty stick. I have had Saiteks that did. Funnily enough, my fave old standby, the long defunct Micosoft Sidewinder Precision Pro (and Force Feedback),whilst often ridiculed by "serious" gamers, is far more accurate than any stick under 300 bucks I have ever used. That and the fact that both versions I have still work like champs 15 years after I bought them, says it all for me. As soon as my new pc components arrive, I will see if it wants to play along with Windows 7 (there are ways to make it work contrary to popular belief), and if all checks out, barring some compatibility issue with MW:O, I will likely continue to employ my Sidewinder.

As for using one of the hats or buttons for torso twisting, I think you will find nothing works as easily or naturally as a twist stick. And the less thought and effort needed, the better your survivability.

[Squiggy McPew]

Ohhh I know one that would rock with native support.

The newest ps3 controller with built in motion sensors.

The dualshock 3 6 axis.

[RedDragon]

Bishop Steiner, on 16 July 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

Depends on the twisty stick. I have had Saiteks that did. Funnily enough, my fave old standby, the long defunct Micosoft Sidewinder Precision Pro (and Force Feedback),whilst often ridiculed by "serious" gamers, is far more accurate than any stick under 300 bucks I have ever used. That and the fact that both versions I have still work like champs 15 years after I bought them, says it all for me. As soon as my new pc components arrive, I will see if it wants to play along with Windows 7 (there are ways to make it work contrary to popular belief), and if all checks out, barring some compatibility issue with MW:O, I will likely continue to employ my Sidewinder.

As for using one of the hats or buttons for torso twisting, I think you will find nothing works as easily or naturally as a twist stick. And the less thought and effort needed, the better your survivability.

I too used a MS Force Feedback 2 in MW3 and 4 and mine also still works. Problem is, I recently installed MW3 to get a bit of training for MWO and sadly Win7 doesn't support the FF2 any more. It still works, but there's no way to configure it (especially the force feedback) without 3rd-party programs, and I read that the tools available for this are not really good and overly complicated. It's a shame, that was a sturdy and precise joystick...

I guess I'll check out the Thrustmaster as well, looks pretty good, especially for that price. But I think I'll wait until I get into beta and can get some first-hand reviews of the stick in MWO from people who are already using it

[CommanderOSIS]

I just got my hotas x. seems pretty nice I just wish the throttle and stick werent tethered together or at the very least had more slack. I was going to mount this on a sim pit like setup but I dont know if Ill be able to now. for the price though seems pretty legit has twist rudder and throttle toggle rudder and intuitive button lay out. durability unknown.

[EGH]

120mm, on 16 July 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

I'm using an xbox360 controller with mw4:mercs and its a blast once I remapped the buttons the way I liked.

im also playing MW4 with my 360 controller, but were you even able to get the right thumbstick to rotate the torso?? ive been playing with static torso for the whole game

[OJ191]

Well I've had this Saitek 'Cyborg Evo Force' (http://computers.pro...force-feedback/) for ~5 years and it's still going strong... but I can't find anywhere it's purchaseable anymore. GL anyway

Edited by OJ191, 16 July 2012 - 08:50 AM.

[Freric]

I use the Logitech 3d pro for MW4, It is VERY good for 26 dollars. It has 3 axis, and enough buttons for all of the battlemech functions I use.

[Squiggy McPew]

EGH, on 16 July 2012 - 08:47 AM, said:

im also playing MW4 with my 360 controller, but were you even able to get the right thumbstick to rotate the torso?? ive been playing with static torso for the whole game

The game sees it as a normal joystick so it doesnt detect the second stick.

As far as torso twist I just remapped to the top shoulder buttons.

Its just as effective especially as I condensed most of my keyboard shortcuts to the numberpad for quick selection.

Hopefully mwo sees it as a native controller and gives full access to all the features of the controller.

[th3 fr4gil3]

Pitstarter, on 15 July 2012 - 10:32 PM, said:

I really like the Thrustmaster HOTAS one. Lots of buttons within easy reach, and quite inexpensive.

My only gripe about it is the twist on the stick and the rudder control on the throttle are one and the same. From what I see you can't map the throttle rudder to something and have the stick rudder mapped to something else.

stick can be switch between 4 and 5 axis mode with the press of a button, so throttle rudder can be mapped separate from stick twist.
the bugbear i have with it is the overly large dead-zone which can't be compensated for in win7 as it doesn't save deadzone values in registry apparently.
gonna give the stick a run-through in MW4:Mercs and see if its as bad as it was while i was playing freespace1/2 last couple of weeks.